U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,684A teaches an articulated vehicle with a hinged joint which includes two wheeled sections hinged together in the middle of the vehicle by a universal movement joint enabling relative pivoting about three axes extending at right angles to each other through the center of the vehicle. A hydraulically operated strut extends between the two vehicle sections and is universally pivoted at its ends to the two vehicle sections to control the relative pivoting of the two vehicle sections about a transverse axis while enabling the middle of the vehicle to be raised or lowered for various reasons. The vehicle is steered by a pair of hydraulically operated steering struts extending between the two vehicle sections on the opposite sides of the universal movement joint.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,743,869, assigned to Listerhill Total Maintenance center, teaches a mining utility transport vehicle which utilizes upper and lower assemblies, rotation, and hydraulic/piston units connecting between two halves of a mine transport vehicle.
Caterpillar and Joy Global offer a variety of articulated vehicles, embodiments of which have complicated vertical articulation capability complex structures and hydraulics. U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,431, assigned to Joy M M Delaware, Inc., teaches an articulated vehicle having a first vehicle portion attached to a second vehicle portion by a joint assembly which includes bearing assembly that is pivotally attached to the first vehicle and attached to the second vehicle in addition to hydraulic piston units.
Other mining vehicles and payload movement devices utilize flexible attachments. U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,801, assigned to Gulf Transport, teaches multi-combination vehicle and method for transporting a payload in an underground mine that includes a mechanism between cars or payload transport that allows pivoting and rotation with hydraulic piston-cylinder units. U.S. Pat. No. 6,361,269, assigned to Gulf Transport, teaches a multi-combination vehicle and method for transporting a payload in an underground mine.
Further efforts to dampen articulated vehicles also exist. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,174,597 and 5,137,107 teach articulation damping devices which use a hydraulic piston-cylinder unit connected pivotally for the joint of an articulated omnibus. U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,164 teaches an industrial truck having an articulated steering assembly between tractor and payload.